The Alvari training chamber settled after the Hilt Attunement, the faint resonance fading. Drake stood ready, his [Trial Blades] feeling more attuned to him, even if their full nature remained a mystery. He had successfully mastered the initial SCR thresholds for [Parry] (80%), [Twin Fang Strike] (83%), [Blade Dance] (81%), and, after a grueling effort, his [Basic Attack Combo R/L] (Right Hand 100% SCR, Left Hand 82% SCR).
Elder Jian's voice, ancient and clear, filled the sanctum. "The final stage, initiate: The Mirror's Edge. You now face an echo of the fundamental standard required for this path. This reflection performs every Bladesworn technique you have learned at the precise minimum threshold required to pass this trial – a consistent, unwavering 80% Skill Completion Rate on all its actions. You must demonstrate that your own honed execution surpasses this baseline. All your learned Bladesworn abilities are at your command. Begin."
Opposite Drake, a shimmering silver-blue outline solidified, forming an exact duplicate: the Echo, wielding identical [Trial Blades], its stance a perfect mirror of readiness.
<< Trial Stage 5 Initiated: Defeat the Echo of Threshold Potential. >>
The Echo moved first, a blur of motion as it initiated a [Basic Attack Combo R/L], leading with its right hand. Drake met the assault head-on, his own blades flashing.
Clang! Their right-hand [Trial Blades] met. Drake's attack: << [Basic Attack Combo R/L - Right Hand] Skill Success! SCR 100%! PERFECT EXECUTION! >> << Damage Dealt: 30! >> (Base damage with Trial Blade, benefiting from 270% potential effect).
Echo's attack: << [Basic Attack Combo R/L - Right Hand] Skill Success! SCR 80%! >> << Damage Dealt: 10! >> (Echo's 80% SCR = 90% potential effect).
"Immediately noticeable! My 100% right hand hits harder than its 80%."
Their left hands followed through almost simultaneously. Drake's off-hand: << [Basic Attack Combo R/L - Left Hand] Skill Success! SCR 82%! >> << Damage Dealt: 13! >> (base +5%, executed at 82% quality).
Echo's off-hand: << [Basic Attack Combo R/L - Left Hand] Skill Success! SCR 80%! >> << Damage Dealt: 11! >> ( base +5%, executed at 80% quality).
The difference was subtle on individual hits after the first, but Drake understood its implications immediately. The Echo was perfectly consistent at 80% SCR for everything. Its [Parry] would provide significant damage reduction (but not full negation). Its [Twin Fang Strike] and [Blade Dance] would be performed at a flat 80% SCR. Its [Basic Attack Combo R/L] would be R(80%)-L(80%), meaning its combo length was capped by the 80% SCR tier (around 15 hits), and its +5% stacking damage bonus would always operate from that 80% quality baseline.
Drake, however, had advantages across the board:
[Basic Attack Combo R/L]: R-100%/L-82%. His right hand was far superior. His left hand was marginally better (82% vs 80%), allowing a slightly longer combo chain and thus a slightly higher peak for the +5% stacking damage before reset. Every single one of his right-hand strikes in the combo would be significantly more damaging than the Echo's.[Twin Fang Strike]: 83% SCR vs. Echo's 80%.[Blade Dance]: 81% SCR vs. Echo's 80%.[Parry]: 80% SCR, same as the Echo
(Neither combatant possessed [Relentless Assault] yet. This was a pure contest of base execution quality and skill application).
The duel unfolded. It was a strange experience, fighting a mirror that was perfectly competent yet demonstrably inferior in raw output. When the Echo used [Twin Fang Strike] (80% SCR), Drake would aim to [Parry] (80% SCR), taking reduced damage, then counter with his own 83% SCR [Twin Fang Strike], which clearly dealt more burst.
The most significant advantage for Drake lay in the extended [Basic Attack Combo R/L] exchanges. His 100% SCR right-hand strikes consistently out-damaged the Echo's 80% SCR right-hand strikes. While his 82% SCR left hand only provided a marginal improvement in combo length over the Echo's 80% SCR left hand, the overall damage throughput from his combo was noticeably higher due to the superior quality of every main-hand blow.
"It can't match my right hand's output at all. And my left is just good enough to keep the chain going slightly longer. Every full combo I land, I'm pulling ahead in damage significantly."
Drake began to press this advantage. He focused on creating openings for his basic combo, using perfectly timed 80% SCR [Parry] activations to disrupt the Echo's rhythm, then flowing into his R(100%)-L(82%) sequence. He saw the Echo's health bar decreasing faster than his own. When they both used [Blade Dance], his 81% version felt slightly more impactful, hitting a bit harder or controlling space marginally better than the Echo's 80% spin.
The Echo made no execution errors below its 80% cap, making it a relentless, if predictable, opponent. But Drake's small advantages in SCR across multiple skills, especially the large gap in their right-hand basic attack quality, compounded over time. He wasn't taking huge chunks out of its health instantly, but he was consistently winning trades, controlling the flow of combat, and methodically whittling down its health bar while skillfully mitigating its perfectly adequate 80% SCR offense.
After several minutes of this focused, high-precision dueling, the difference was undeniable. Drake had clearly established dominance. The Echo was still fighting, still executing its techniques with unwavering 80% proficiency, but it was being outpaced, out-damaged, and outmaneuvered by an opponent who simply possessed a higher threshold of execution. Victory was clearly in sight, a matter of maintaining his focus and pressing his earned advantage.